Part 1 - Meet Hoshino Rini
by Rini Starshooter
Summary: It's PG13 because there's some violence, but what kind of Detective Conan story doesn't have violence? Anyway, this fanfic introduces a new character into Conan's life. I hope you like it! ^_^


(Flash back)  
  
Shinichi sat down in his usual seat, waiting for the bell to ring. He looked over to his right where there was supposed to be an empty desk, but instead he saw a girl. He stared at her for a while, trying to figure out who she was. She had long blond hair, which was tied up into two curly pigtails on the top of her head. Shinichi noticed that she had violet eyes, since this was quite rare.  
  
The girl, who had known he had been staring at her for a while, got annoyed and looked back at him. Shinichi panicked and quickly looked the other way. The girl giggled a little, but Shinichi didn't hear her.  
  
"Hello." Shinichi heard the girl say. He looked back at her.  
  
"Hi. I don't think I've ever seen you here before. Are you new?" He asked.  
  
"Yes. I am. I'm from America. I just moved here." She replied.  
  
"Oh!" Shinichi said, realizing he hadn't introduced himself. "My name is Kudo Shinichi."  
  
"My name is Hoshino Rini. Nice to meet you." She reached her hand out, and Shinichi shook it.  
  
"Nice to meet you too." He said.  
  
Shinichi had forgotten that Ran had been sitting right behind them the whole time, and by now she was totally jealous.  
  
"Hey Shinichi! You haven't forgotten about the big karate championship have you?" She interrupted. Shinichi looked back at Ran.  
  
"Yeah, but I'm only taking you to Tropical Land if you win." He said.  
  
"I know, but I'll win." She looked over at Rini. "Oh. Hello. I don't think we've met before. My name is Mouri Ran." She tried to act friendly.  
  
"Hello. My name is Hoshino Rini. I'm new here. I just moved from America." She smiled.  
  
"Oh. How nice for you." Ran said, than turned back to Shinichi. "Shinichi, who will you be rooting for at the karate championship?"  
  
"That one guy. You know? The prince of kicks." He said jokingly.  
  
"WHAT??" She yelled. "You mean you're not going to be rooting for me?" She asked, hoping that it was a joke.  
  
"I was just joking. Don't worry." He said, and gave her a gentle smile, than turned back to Rini. "So, what's America like?" He asked her.  
  
"Well, it's just like Japan, except for the different language and traditions." She replied. Shinichi later realized he shouldn't have, but he just couldn't resist.  
  
"I'm a big fan of Sherlock Holmes." He said, a smile spreading across his face.  
  
"Really?" Rini asked, a little disappointed.  
  
"He's a total mystery freak!" Ran called out from behind Shinichi. Rini laughed.  
  
"That's okay. My father is one too. I'm used to it." She said.  
  
"You're father?" Shinichi asked.  
  
"Yup. He has all the books, and many more. Like the biography of Conan Doyle, all that." Rini said, not really enjoying this subject.  
  
"Wow! That's great!" Shinichi practically shouted.  
  
"Maybe you could come over sometime?" Rini asked. This comment made Ran jump.  
  
"Well, your house is probably really far away, and you don't want to hear him babble stories about Sherlock Holmes all day, do you?" Ran said, trying to act as friendly as possible to her new competitor.  
  
"No. It would be fine. Really." Rini said.  
  
In the end, Shinichi never came over to her house, and Rini moved away about one week later. She said her father got a job offer in America, and she would have to go back. After that, Rini never came back.  
  
(Flash back end)  
  
That was one year before Shinichi's disappearance. Now back to present times!  
  
Conan sat down at his usual seat, waiting for the bell to ring. He looked over to his right where there was supposed to be an empty seat, but instead he saw a girl. He stared at her for a while, trying to figure out who she was. Conan knew he had seen her somewhere before, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. She had long blond hair, which was tied up into two pigtails on the top of her head. Then he noticed that she had violet eyes. That's rare.He thought to himself. The only other person I've seen who had violet eyes, was that girl from America. I haven't seen her since she moved away. What was her name again? He wondered. Oh yeah! Hoshino Rini. That was it. His thoughts were interrupted by his teacher.  
  
"Class! Settle down class." She said. "We have a new student joining our class today." The class looked around, and then everybody had focused their attention to the girl with blond hair. "Will you please stand?" The teacher asked the girl. Obviously, the girl next to Conan stood up.  
  
"Hello. My name is Rini Starshooter. Nice to meet all of you." She said. Conan's eyes suddenly widened and he almost fell off of his seat. He looked up at the girl, in shock.  
  
"How could it possibly be?" He muttered to himself.  
  
"Are you okay Conan-kun? Would you like to go to the nurse's office?" The teacher asked, concerned with Conan's strange behavior. Conan tried to act calm.  
  
"Um.no sensei. I'm fine." He said in his high-pitched seven-year old voice.  
  
Conan stayed quiet for the rest of the period, looking over at Rini once in a while, but finally at lunch he decided to confirm his suspicions. He approached Rini, who was sitting at a table by herself.  
  
"Hi!" Conan said, which caused Rini to jump a little.  
  
"Oh. Hello little boy. I mean um.. Hello." Rini said hastily. Conan sat down beside her.  
  
"My name's Conan." Conan said innocently.  
  
"What a funny name." Rini laughed a little. "It's just like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle." There was silence for a moment.  
  
"High-school sucks. Huh?" He asked her.  
  
"Yeah." Rini sighed. "I mean, no! We're not in high school yet. Silly." She laughed a little.  
  
"Yeah. You're right." Conan said. There was a period of silence before Conan spoke. "So, how old are you?" He asked.  
  
"Sixtee.. I mean six. I'm six years old."  
  
"Oh." There was a long period of silence again. "What's you're name again? Hoshino Rini. Right?" He asked. Rini looked at him, stunned.  
  
"What?!" She jumped up from the table. "I.I don't know what you're talking about." She said, in shock.  
  
"You know very well what I'm talking about." He smirked, his voice turning a little more mature. "Right? Ms. Hoshino?" Rini was stunned. How did he know her name? How could he possibly? Was he connected to the black organization? Rini panicked.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about." She said again.  
  
"Of course yo.." Conan stopped. He had been so caught up in trying to figure out who she was, that he didn't even stop to think if she was a member of the black organization, like Haibara Ai. He smacked himself for being so careless. He had to think of something quick. Something that would make him look like a little kid.  
  
"You're right. I was being silly. Ha ha ha." Conan forced out a laugh. Rini looked at him strangely, then decided to forget the whole incident and go back to eating her lunch.  
  
Rini was about half way done with her sandwich, when Haibara Ai approached the table and sat on the other side of Conan. At first, neither of them noticed each other, but when they did, sparks flew!  
  
"YOU!" They both shouted at the same time, glaring at each other. Conan looked at Ai, then at Rini.  
  
"Um.. do you two know each other?" He asked, totally feeling left out. Ai ignored his question and began to talk to Rini.  
  
"Well, well.if it isn't daddy's little girl. I didn't know you were going to this school." Ai said mockingly.  
  
"Shut up Ai! I can go to any school I want! And my father was a great man!" Rini shouted.  
  
"Sure. Sure. That's why he got killed." Ai said coldly.  
  
"He is not dead!!" Rini shouted, tears welding up in her eyes. "He's still alive, and I intend on finding him!" Ai ignored her and continued pestering her.  
  
"Well, I guess you could say that it was really his fault. He shouldn't have disobeyed." Ai said.  
  
"My father didn't do anything wrong. Those were horrible, horrible people. And they tricked him." Rini said, looked down to hide her tears.  
  
"Well, good-luck finding him. It might take a while though." Ai laughed. Just then the lunch bell rang.  
  
"I have to go now." Rini told Conan, then ran out of the room.  
  
Conan and Rini didn't see each other for the rest of the day, since they had different classes, however, when school got out, there was no stopping Conan. He told Ayumi that he had to go somewhere before he went home, and went to follow Rini. He was planning on following her all the way home, but half way there, Rini noticed him and turned around.  
  
"Why are you following me?" She asked, annoyed.  
  
"Um.. I live over this way too." Conan said. Rini walked up to Conan, obviously not believing a word he said.  
  
"Listen. I already know who you are." Rini said. ".and I don't want to drag you into my troubles." Conan laughed.  
  
"You know who I am? Of course you do! I'm Edogawa Conan!" Conan laughed hesitantly.  
  
"No. You're not." Rini said.  
  
"Yes. I am."  
  
"No you're not."  
  
"Yes! I AM!" Conan shouted.  
  
"Okay." Rini said, giving up. "You're very persistent, so I mind as well tell you." She took a deep breath. "You're name is Kudo Shinichi. You are a Sherlock Holmes freak. You are sixteen years old, and you used to go to Teitan High school. Your father is a famous writer, and your mother is an actress. Your girlfriend is a girl named Mouri Ran." Conan blushed at this. Rini laughed a little. "See? Why would a little kid be blushing?"  
  
"H.how did you know?" Conan asked, figuring that the jig was up, and he couldn't fake it anymore.  
  
"I told you. My father is a Sherlock Holmes freak. He taught me everything he knows about it." She said  
  
"How would that help you figure out who I was?" Conan asked, confused.  
  
"Well, you know that baby picture you showed me when we were in high school, when we had to do a project about ourselves?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"You look just like the little boy in the picture!" Rini tried not to, but she just couldn't help but laugh. Once she stopped laughing, she continued. "..but I'm sure you already figured out who I was a long time ago. Right?" She asked.  
  
"Yup. You still have a lot to learn." Conan said, proud of himself.  
  
"That's funny." Rini looked down at the ground. "That's exactly what my father used to tell me." She said.  
  
"So, do you want to tell me about what's going on between you and Haibara, or do you want me to figure it out myself?"  
  
"No need. I'll tell you." Rini sighed. "Well, you know that job my dad got? It was with the black organization, which I'm sure you've heard of. My dad wasn't only a Sherlock Holmes freak, but a brilliant scientist. They hired him for that purpose. They told him that they were going to save thousands of lives, but instead, they made poisons witch killed thousands. My father was tricked." Conan saw a teardrop fall from her face. "Then suddenly my father disappeared. I haven't heard from him at all. Ai and me met long before my dad was hired though. She was a student in America and so was I. We used to be very good friends. It's hard to believe now. After my father's disappearance, Ai kept telling me that he was dead. That the black organization murdered him, and that's when we became enemies. I just couldn't believe that he was dead. A few weeks later, I got a phone call from an anonymous tipper. He told me that they had brought my father to an underground hideout, and were holding him hostage. They gave me directions. I was desperate, and I guess I wasn't thinking. It led me right into a trap. A couple of guys told me that I knew too much, and then they forced me to drink some weird medicine. I thought it would kill me, but it didn't. It just turned me into a kid. About an hour after I was poisoned, I woke up. The two men were still there. I was listening, but they didn't know it. I heard them say something about bringing the prisoner to this city. I knew that it probably wasn't my father they were talking about, but I had to try. So I came here." Rini became totally silent, still staring down at the ground.  
  
"I was forced to drink the same thing. It's called ATPX 4869. Haibara told me. One of the guys caught me spying on them, and knocked me out." Conan walked up to her. "I'll help you find you're father if you can find the guys who poisoned me." Rini was silent. Suddenly, Rini looked up from the ground and practically jumped on him, hugging him tight. Conan was a little surprised at first, but then he noticed how Rini probably felt, and felt sorry for her.  
  
"Why me, Shinichi?" She sobbed. "Why did all this have to happed to me?"  
  
"It's not that bad being a kid." He said, trying to comfort her. Rini suddenly noticed what she was doing, and to a complete stranger! She stood straight up, a little embarrassed.  
  
"I'm sorry." Rini said. "I have to leave." Rini said, and began to walk away, but Conan grabbed her hand. "Let me go." Rini complained.  
  
"Who are you staying with?" He asked her.  
  
"I can take care of myself!" Rini jerked her hand away from him. Conan sighed. This was hopeless.  
  
"Well, if you need any help, come to a place called Mouri Tantei Jimusho. Got it?"  
  
"Yes. Now please.can I go?" She asked. Conan just smiled. Rini took that as a yes and dashed off.  
  
That night Conan couldn't stop thinking about Rini. Who was she? Was she really just an innocent girl who was at the wrong place in the wrong time? Could he really trust her? Then something crossed his mind that he hadn't thought of before. How did she know Shiho's fake name?! She probably heard it in class, but she used it so casually as if she had been using it for quite a while. Suddenly he became very suspicious of her. After a while of thinking about it, Conan finally fell asleep.  
  
The next day Rini came to school wearing one of Shinichi's old jackets from when he was little. Conan was shocked. Where did she get that?! He approached her.  
  
"Rini, where did you get that jacket?" He asked, very suspicious.  
  
"I got it from the person I'm staying with. Why?" She asked.  
  
"Who exactly are you staying with?" He asked her.  
  
"Nobody you know." Rini replied.  
  
"Do you know whose jacket that is?" Conan asked.  
  
"No." Rini said, really confused.  
  
"It's mine." Conan said. Rini's eyes widened.  
  
"What? That's impossible!" She yelled.  
  
"Who are you staying with?" Conan asked, completely ignoring Rini's statement.  
  
"Nobody. Just some guy named Agasa." She said. Conan's mouth dropped open. Suddenly his confusion turned to anger. Not towards Rini, but towards Agasa Hakase. How could he have not told him?  
  
"Agasa?! Agasa Hakase?!" Conan shouted.  
  
"Yeah. You know him?" Rini asked.  
  
"Know him? I've known him all my life! He lives right next to my house!" Conan shouted.  
  
"That house is yours!?" Rini asked, getting more and more confused by the second.  
  
"Well, it used to be mine when I was a high school student." Conan said. "But now I live with Ran."  
  
"You live with her?" Rini was very confused. "So wait. Let me get this straight. You used to live in the house that I live next to when you were a high schooler, but now you're a kid so you live with Ran, who is your girlfriend, or was you girlfriend when you were a high schooler, but she doesn't know that it was her boyfriend living with her the whole time?!" Rini was surprised she managed to fit all that into one sentence.  
  
"Well.I know it's a little confusing, but yes." Conan said, blushing at the fact that she called Ran his girlfriend several times.  
  
"A little?! Oh, that's more than a little." Rini complained.  
  
"Well, it's not much more confusing than your life." Conan said. "You live with my old neighbor, who just happens to be a mad scientist, and with a girl that is also a scientist who invented the drug that made you and me into little kids again, and never told me about it!" He yelled.  
  
"Sorry. I thought you knew." Rini said apologetically.  
  
"Well, I guess that explains the fact that you know Shiho's fake name. I still can't believe Hakase didn't tell me!"  
  
"He was probably planning to." Rini said, trying to cover for Hakase.  
  
"Than why didn't he?" Conan grabbed his head and groaned loudly. He was getting totally annoyed with everyone.  
  
"Please don't be mad at him.. It wasn't his fault. He was really nice. He took me in when I didn't have any place to stay." Rini said. "Besides, you know now right? So, you don't have to be mad. Right?" Conan smiled at her. She was just like Ran. She never wanted anything bad to happen to anyone. How he missed her.  
  
"You know." Conan sighed. "You're just like Ran." Conan gave her a weak smile.  
  
"I am?" Rini looked surprised.  
  
"Yeah." He said sadly, realizing again that he might never return to normal size again.  
  
"Thanks. Ran's really nice, even though she got jealous when I talked to you." Rini giggled.  
  
"Really?" Conan asked, blushing all over again.  
  
"Yeah. Didn't you notice?" Rini asked.  
  
"No. I guess I didn't.."  
  
"You know, she's really lucky to have someone like you." Rini smiled and Conan smiled back. Suddenly Ai walked passed them.  
  
"Ran would get mad if she saw you right now." She said quietly enough that both could hear, but not the rest of the class. Rini and Conan realized what an awkward moment that was and looked away from each other, trying to avoid eye contact. (You know how when you do something embarrassing, you don't really want to make eye contact with anyone?)  
  
"Well.I really better go sit down before the bell rings." Rini said.  
  
"Yeah, me too." Conan said. Although that was meant as a way of getting away from each other, they headed the same way since their desks were right next to each other. It was like that all day. Rini would accidentally drop a pencil and when both of them reached down to pick it up, they bumped heads of something. Conan and Rini both found it embarrassing, but Ai found it very funny.  
  
After school had ended, Rini's plan was to walk home by herself, but instead she found herself walking home with Conan. 'I want to go talk to Hakase' Conan had said, but Rini didn't believe him. She knew that he wanted to come check up on her, to see if she was really telling the truth. She wasn't angry though, because she knew that if he had told her a story like that, she wouldn't have believed him either. They talked about their former lives and the black organization on the way there.  
  
"So, your dad is a scientist huh?" Conan asked.  
  
"Yup. I wish he hadn't been." Rini sighed. Conan frowned, thinking he had upset her.  
  
"I'm sorry." He said.  
  
"That's okay." Rini gave him a small smile. "I'm used to it." Rini sighed. "Besides, what am sad about? We're going to find him. Right?" Rini said, trying to brighten them up. Conan smiled.  
  
"Yeah." They were silent for a little while.  
  
"You know what?" Rini said.  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"I think everything's going to turn out alright." Rini said, staring out at the sunset. At this point Conan couldn't remember why he had ever doubted that. Somehow Rini had this special power of making everything seem a little brighter no matter how bad they looked. Conan looked at Rini, who was still staring out at the sky and a smile spread across him face.  
  
"Hm? What are you looking at?" Rini turned back to face Conan.  
  
"Oh. Nothing." He looked back at the ground and began kicking around a small rock. Rini watched him as he kicked the small pebble around in circles.  
  
"I remember when you were in high school. You were so good at soccer." Rini said.  
  
"Yeah. I guess."  
  
"I was always a little jealous of you. I wish I was good at soccer." Conan laughed.  
  
"You could be good if you practiced."  
  
"Now, I have no clue why I was jealous. I don't even like soccer." Rini laughed.  
  
"How can you not like soccer?" He asked sarcastically.  
  
"I just don't. I like tennis. I'm much better at that." Rini said.  
  
"Oh yeah. I think I saw you playing tennis once in the tennis court next to the soccer field. You were really good. I got so caught up in watching you play, I got knocked down by another player." They both laughed at this.  
  
"My mother taught me how to play tennis. She died when I was fourteen though."  
  
"Oh. I'm sorry." Conan said.  
  
"I've gotten over it. It wouldn't exactly be good if she was here anyway. I don't think she could stand it if she knew my dad was gone." Rini fought back the tears, but Conan could see the sadness in her eyes. He tried to change the subject.  
  
"I wish you could meet my parents. Their crazy. Once, they dressed up as one of my old enemies, the night barron. They captured me and pointed a gun to my head. It wasn't real, but I sure thought it was." Conan let out a little laugh. "I yelled at them after I found out it was them. They said that they did it to show me how dangerous it is in Japan, and they tried to convince me to come back to America with them. Of course I said no. I wouldn't leave Japan for all the money in the world." Conan sighed.  
  
"Because of Ran?" Rini asked. Conan's face began to turn red.  
  
"N..no. Why would I want to stay just because of her?" He stuttered. Rini's tears had disappeared by now, and she began to laugh.  
  
"I know why, and I'm sure you do too." Conan's face was bright red. Rini laughed out loud. Conan was glad to see a smile back on her face again. "Here we are." Rini exclaimed. Conan looked up and saw Agasa Hakase's house.  
  
"Let's go inside than." Conan said, and led Rini inside.  
  
"Rini! Why are you home so late!" Agasa Hakase's attention was turned to Conan. "O..Oh! Shinichi-kun! What a nice surprise it is to see you!" Hakase said, and let out a little pitiful laugh. "I presume you already know Rini." He gestured toward Rini.  
  
"It's all right Hakase. I'm in a good mood today. I'll forgive you, under one condition." Agasa Hakase sighed.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Well, first of all, buy Rini some new clothes. She can't just wear mine for the rest of her life, and second of all." They all waited, and expected to hear something that would normally come out of a well-educated detectives mouth, but instead, they got what would normally come out of Shinichi's mouth. "um..can you fix my tranquilizer watch? I think I broke it the last time I used it. Ha ha ha.." Everyone sighed, except Conan who was looked around at everyone wondering what everybody was sighing about.  
  
"Sure Shinichi-kun. Now, I think you better be getting home before Ran-kun gets worried about you." Hakase said.  
  
"Oh yeah! It's already 5'O clock! How did it get so late anyway?" He quickly dashed out the door saying good-bye to Rini, Ai, and Hakase on his way out. After Conan was out of earshot they all began talking about him.  
  
"That Shinichi. He never changes." Hakase said.  
  
"Nope. Just as clueless as ever." Ai said.  
  
"I like him though. He's very kind." Rini said. Ai and Hakase both looked over at her in shock. "As a friend." Rini quickly added.  
  
"You're right Rini. He is kind." Hakase said.  
  
"Really? Am I missing something here?" Ai said sarcastically. They all laughed as they walked down the hallway. 


End file.
